Assistant Manager Business Development – Abuja, Nigeria

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is a real-time, cross-border payment infrastructure designed to simplify and accelerate transactions across Africa. A subsidiary of Afreximbank, PAPSS enables instant payments in local currencies, reducing the need for foreign intermediaries and supporting the continent’s financial integration. By connecting central banks, commercial banks, fintechs, and other payment service providers, PAPSS plays a key role in advancing the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through seamless, secure, and cost-effective intra-African payments.

Reference Number: BLRJH04

Application Closing Date: 17th November 2025

CA Global Headhunters has been mandated by Afreximbank to recruit for this position. For more information on Afreximbank please visit their website www.afreximbank.com. Should you meet the minimum requirements and wish to apply for the position please apply directly to CA Global Headhunters.

Job Description:

We are seeking a dynamic and strategically minded Business Development Asst. Manager to play a key role in the development, stakeholder engagement, and rollout of a new domestic card payment scheme. The successful candidate will work cross-functionally to identify and onboard critical partners including banks, acquirers, PSPs, processors, and merchants while driving commercial strategy, use case development, and ecosystem readiness. This is a high-impact role ideal for someone with strong industry relationships and a deep understanding of the payments value chain, especially in emerging domestic schemes, A2A solutions, or card network models.

Responsibilities:

• Strategic Ecosystem Development
  
  • Identify and engage key ecosystem players including issuers, acquirers, processors, payment gateways, and fintech enablers.
  • Develop a clear pipeline of partners for scheme enablement and early adoption.
  • Support the definition of use cases (e.g., retail, government payments, toll, fuel, e-commerce, etc.) and commercialization pathways.

   

   

• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Serve as a primary liaison for banks, PSPs, FinTech’s, and government entities, communicating the scheme’s value proposition and onboarding requirements.
  • Coordinate workshops, bilateral meetings, and technical onboarding readiness with partners.
  • Gather ecosystem feedback to iterate the scheme’s business model and incentive structures.

   

   

• Commercial & Go-To-Market Strategy
  • Collaborate with the strategy and product teams to define pricing, incentive, and rebate models to attract issuers and acquirers.
  • Support design of loyalty frameworks, co-badging strategies, and card product tiers (e.g., standard, premium, government payroll).
  • Work with legal and compliance teams to draft and socialize scheme participation agreements.

   

   

• Business Planning & Internal Alignment
  • Work with internal project management and product teams to ensure commercial readiness aligns with technical rollout timelines.
  • Provide market insights and competitive benchmarking to support decision-making by senior leadership.
  • Own KPIs around partner onboarding, transaction volumes, and activation targets.

   

   

Requirements:

• 5+ years of experience in payments, financial services, or fintech, preferably with exposure to card networks, A2A schemes, or banking/payment partnerships.
• Strong understanding of the acquiring/issuing value chain, card scheme operations, and regulatory dynamics in Africa or emerging markets.
• Proven track record of partner acquisition, relationship management, and commercial strategy development.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; able to present confidently to C-level executives.
• Experience working on new product launches or ecosystem buildouts is a strong advantage.
• Bachelor’s degree required (preferably in Business, Finance, Economics, or related fields); MBA or similar is a must.

Contractual Information:

• Permanent 
• Willing to relocate to Abuja, Nigeria